The Opening Faceoff: The nationally 11th-ranked
Ferris State University men's ice hockey team will open the final
month of Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA)
regular-season action this weekend (Feb. 5-6) as the Bulldogs host
the Northern Michigan Wildcats in a two-game series at FSU's
Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. This Friday's (Feb.
5) opener is slated for a 7:05 p.m. (EST) opening faceoff while
Saturday's (Feb. 6) contest starts at 7:35 p.m. (EST) due
to the live telecast.

On TV : This Saturday's (Feb.
6) weekend league series finale versus Northern Michigan
will be televised live on FS Detroit Plus. Dan
Dickerson will call the action with Fred
Pletsch providing analysis.

Bulldog Hockey Ticket Information: Tickets
for the four remaining 2009-10 Bulldog home
regular-season hockey games can be purchased by contacting the FSU
Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888. The FSU Athletics Ticket
Office's normal hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET)
weekdays. Single-game tickets may also be purchased by contacting
Star Tickets at 1-800-585-3737 or online at Star Tickets website:
www.startickets.com.
Tickets are also available at all Meijer store locations in West
Michigan and at the Student Services Office in the FSU Rankin
Student Center.

Meijer Family Hockey Night: This Saturday's
(Feb. 6) tilt versus Northern Michigan is Meijer Family
Hockey Night, which features four game tickets, four sodas and two
bags of popcorn for $32. Meijer Family Hockey Night coupons are
available at the Big Rapids Meijer and can be redeemed at the FSU
Athletics Ticket Office 24 hours prior to the game's 7:35 p.m.
(EST) start time.

Bulldog Hockey Promotions: The
two reserved seats for $22 or three reserved seats for
$33 ticket promotion is available for both of this weekend's (Feb.
5-6) contests. On Friday (Feb. 5), the Engineering Technology
Department will be acknowledged and it's Jersey Night for FSU
students. The contest also represents Registered Student
Organization Night with over 12 campus RSO's in attendance to
present information on their respective groups out in the main
corridor. This Saturday's (Feb. 6) game will feature
Morley-Stanwood Night and the Canadian Lakes Group along with the
Pioneer Group Department Appreciation Night. FSU students are
encouraged to wear their trucker hat. All fans in attendance
at Saturday's (Feb. 6) game will receive a free rally
towel.

The Radio Broadcast: Both of this
weekend's CCHA contests against Northern Michigan will be
broadcast live by radio station Big Country WWBR-100.9 FM with
Dominic Hennig calling the action.

Video Webcast: A live video and audio webcast
will be available for all 2009-10 FSU men's ice hockey
home games through B2 Networks for a charge of $7 on FSU's
Athletics Website at www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com (Click
on B2 Networks icon). Live internet statistics will also be
available for all Bulldog home contests.

The Records:Ferris State is currently
17-8-3 overall with a third-place 11-6-3-3 mark in the
CCHA this season after registering a 0-1-1 ledger against Ohio
State last weekend (Jan. 29-30) at OSU's Value City Arena in
Columbus, Ohio. The Bulldogs suffered a 5-3 loss to the
Buckeyes in last Friday's (Jan. 29) matchup before prevailing 2-1
in a four-round shootout on Saturday (Jan. 30) following a 3-3
overtime tie. This week (Feb. 1), Ferris State is presently
ranked 11th by U.S. College Hockey Online.com and USA
Today/USA Hockey Magazine. The Bulldogs are listed
12th in the Inside College Hockey.com's
poll for the third consecutive week. FSU concluded
the 2008-09 season at 12-19-7 overall while compiling a ninth-place
9-14-5-2 CCHA mark (25 pts.).

Northern
Michigan is presently 11-10-7 overall and 7-8-5-2
(10th place) in the CCHA standings following a 1-0-1 ledger in
a two-game league series against Alaska last weekend (Jan. 29-30)
at NMU's Berry Events Center in Marquette, Mich. The Wildcats
captured a 2-0 shootout decision after skating to a 2-2 overtime
tie in last Friday's (Jan. 29) opener before claiming a 3-2 victory
over the Nanooks in Saturday's (Jan. 30) rematch. Northern
Michigan is 5-2-3 in its last 10 appearances to date. A
season ago, NMU registered a 19-17-5 overall mark with a
sixth-place 11-12-5 CCHA record.

The Coaches:Ferris State - Bob
Daniels (Michigan State, 1982), 18th season,
286-329-66 (.468) - (16-20-1 vs. Northern Michigan - 5-10-1
Home, 10-10-0 Away, 1-0-0 Neutral). Daniels has the
distinction of being the all-time winningest coach in Ferris State
history. He was honored as the 2002-03 CCHA Coach of the Year and
the Inside College Hockey (INCH) Coach of the Year, but
the crowning highlight of his coaching career was being chosen as
the recipient of the 2003 Spencer Penrose Award as the ACHA's
Division I National Hockey Coach of the Year. He was among three
finalists for the 2007-08 CCHA Coach of the Year Award.

Northern Michigan - Walt
Kyle (Northern Michigan, 1981), 8th season, 155-131-33
(.538) - (10-7-0 vs. Ferris State). Kyle is the second head
coach in NMU's history and served as an assistant coach for the
Wildcats from 1982-92. He was the program's top assistant in
1991 under former coach Rick Comley when NMU won the NCAA
Division I national title.

The All-Time Series: Ferris State's series
against Northern Michigan this weekend will mark the 68th and 69th
meetings between the two schools with NMU having a 45-20-2 lead in
the all-time series. The Bulldogs are 8-18-2 at home, 11-26-0
on the road, and 1-1-0 at neutral sites versus the Wildcats.
Ferris State has won four of the last five contests, which included
a two-game series sweep last season (11/28-29) in Marquette,
Mich. FSU skated to a 6-4 win in the opener (11/28) and then
pulled out a 2-1 victory in the series finale (11/29). Six of
the last 14 matchups have been decided by one goal or less with the
Bulldogs producing a 2-4-0 mark in those encounters. The
Bulldogs are 2-4-0 in their last six home appearances against the
Wildcats and are averaging 2.60 goals a game (13 total) in its last
five home contests. Ferris State is 3-9-0 all-time in
February outings versus NMU, which includes a 1-5-0 home
mark.

Successful Season: Ferris State's 17-8-3 record
(.661) this season through its first 28 contests represents the
third best start in the program's history. The mark trails
only the 1979-80 squad's 21-7-0 start and the record-setting
2002-03 team's 19-8-1 record. The 2002-03 squad went on to
register a school-best 31-10-1 overall record as the Bulldogs
claimed the school's first-ever CCHA regular-season championship
title along with making the program's first-ever appearance in the
NCAA Tournament.

Hobey Baker Award Candidate: Senior left wing
Blair Riley (Kamloops, British Columbia) is a
2009-10 season candidate for the prestigious Hobey Baker Memorial
Award which is awarded annually to college hockey's top
player. Riley is among 70 candidates for the Award and the
popular fan-voting phase is currently open at the Hobey Baker
website - www.hobeybaker.com. Click on
the Vote for
Hobey Baker icon and follow the prompts to make a
selection from this year's outstanding group of college hockey
players. Riley leads the Bulldogs in points (26) and
goals (16) this season to date while also presently tying for
second-place honors among the CCHA's top points producers in
overall scoring.

Productive Senior Line: FSU's top forward line
of seniors Blair Riley (17-13=30), Casey
Haines (6-17=23), and Cody Chupp
(7-17=24) have combined to account for 30.7% (77-251) of
the Bulldogs' points production and 33.3% (30-90) of its goal
output this campaign.

No Place Like Home: Ferris State's 12-2-0 home
record this season to date equals its best home start since the
1979-80 campaign when the Bulldogs compiled a 12-2-0 mark in their
initial 14 home encounters. The record-setting 2002-03 squad
produced a 9-4-1 home ledger thru their first 14 Ewigleben Ice
Arena appearances.

Season Best: Junior left wing Nate
Hennig (Macomb) has compiled four points (0-4=4) in 12
contests this season, which includes a pair of helpers in last
weekend's (Jan. 29-30) two-game series at Ohio State. He
recorded two points (1-1=2) in 12 outings for the 2008-09 campaign.

Close Encounters: FSU's last five contests have
been decided by two goals or less with the Bulldogs posting a 1-3-1
record in those outings. Eighteen of the Bulldogs' 28 outings
this season have been determined by two goals or less as Ferris is
9-6-3 in those encounters.

Case Unlocked: Senior defenseman Matt
Case (Plymouth, Minn.) has generated five points (3-2=5)
in his last five outings after totaling two points (0-2=2) in his
previous nine contests. Case's 15 points (4-11=15) in 28
games this season is a career best, eclipsing his 12 points
(1-11=12) in 38 outings for the 2008-09 campaign.

Steady Skater: Senior right wing Aaron
Lewicki (Livonia) has posted double-digit points in all
four years (2006-10) as a Bulldog, which includes 16 points
(8-8=16) in 28 games this season. He registered a career-high
20 points (10-10=20) in 37 outings for the 2008-09 campaign.

One More: Junior left wing Mike
Embach (Orland Park, Ill.) needs one more point to equal
his career single-season high 13 points (9-4=13) in 34 contests a
season ago. Embach currently has totaled 12 points (5-7=12)
in 22 encounters this campaign.

Doubling Up: Senior right wing Cody
Chupp (Big Rapids) has presently produced 24 points
(7-17=24) in 26 games this season which doubles his 2008-09
season's output of 12 points (7-5=12) in 33 contests. His
career season high is 30 points (11-19=30) established in 39
contests for the 2007-08 campaign.

Blueline Scoring: Ferris State's eight
defensemen have currently accounted for 29.5% (74-251) of the
team's points production this season while generating 17.8% (16-90)
of its goal scoring. The Bulldogs' top two scoring defenders
alone, Zach Redmond (5-16=21) and Brett
Wysopal (3-13=16) have combined for 14.7% (37-251) of the
team's points among the FSU blueline corps.

Climbing The Charts:Cody
Chupp presently ranks tied for 36th place among Ferris
State's all-time points leaders with 89 career points (33-56=89)
and is tied for 39th place with 56 career helpers in 135
contests. His linemate, Blair Riley is
currently tied for 30th place on FSU's all-time goal-scoring chart
with 41 career lamplighters in 135 outings.

Opponents See Red:Zach
Redmond's 21 points (5-16=21) in 28 games this season is
three shy of equalling his career single-season best 24 points
(3-21=24) set in 38 contests for the 2008-09 season. Redmond,
FSU's 2008-09 Most Valuable Player, has totaled 64 career points
(14-50=64) in 101 contests and is eight points shy of tying Keith
Sergott (1992-96; 72 career points) for 12th place in career points
among FSU defensemen. He's four assists away from tying Clark
Davies (1986-90; 54 career assists) for 12th place on the Bulldogs'
blueline leaders list.

Looking Ahead: Ferris State will venture
across the Mackinaw Bridge to the Upper Peninsula next weekend,
Feb. 13-14, for a two-game CCHA series against the Lake Superior
State Lakers in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Both outings are
scheduled for 7:05 p.m. (EST) start times at LSSU's Taffy Abel
Arena.

CCHA Preseason Polls: Ferris State was picked
to finish eighth in the 2009-10 CCHA Coaches Preseason Poll with 50
points. The Bulldogs received 314 points in the media poll to
place ninth among the 12 conference teams. Points were awarded
on a 12-11-10-9, etc., basis. League coaches ranked the CCHA teams,
excluding their own school, in the order they predicted the regular
season will end.

Head of The Class:Cody Chupp
is a candidate for the 2009-10 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. To
be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as
an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four
areas of excellence - classroom, character, community, and
competition. The 20 candidates will be narrowed to 10
finalists midway through the regular season and those 10
individuals will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots
will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media,
coaches and fans, who will select one finalist who best exemplifies
excellence in the four Cs of classroom, character, community, and
competition. Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the
NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award winner at the 2010 NCAA
Men's Frozen Four to be held in early April at Ford Field in
Detroit, Mich.

2010 Frozen Four : Tickets for the 2010 NCAA
Division I Men's Ice Hockey Frozen Four scheduled for April 8 and
10, 2010 at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich., are available for
purchase by visiting www.NCAA.com/frozenfour, www.ticketmaster.com
or by calling 1 (800) 745-3000. Each all-session ticket
includes the two semifinal games on Thursday, April 8, and the
national championship game on Saturday, April 10. Tickets are
available in four price ranges - $40, $79, $119 and $189. For
more information on the 2010 NCAA Men's Frozen Four, visit www.NCAA.com/frozenfour.

New Points System: The Central Collegiate
Hockey Association announced that a regulation time or overtime win
will be worth three points in the league standings. An
overtime tie and a shootout win will be worth one point
apiece. A loss in either the regulation or overtime period
will receive no points.

Bulldog Hockey Twitbook: All Ferris State
Bulldog Hockey fans now can have access to additional information
on the 2009-10 team via Twitter at twitter.com/FerrisHockey.

On The Internet: Ferris State University
Athletics' official web site can be found at www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com.
The site features information on all of FSU's varsity athletics
programs including rosters, statistics, yearbooks and more.